


Jack and Audrey

by ai_katsuu



Series: Red Shoes Ever After [1]
Category: Red Shoes and the 7 Dwarfs (2019)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:15:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25791205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ai_katsuu/pseuds/ai_katsuu
Summary: Trying to break his curse, Jack stumbles upon a woman who didn't leave the best impression on him.
Relationships: Jack/Audrey - Relationship, Merlin/Snow White
Series: Red Shoes Ever After [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1872790
Kudos: 32





	1. Meeting by the Shore

“You…you are beautiful!” the blond prince looked at the fish who presented him with a pearl.

“Yes! Yes, I will marry-” he’s not quite sure what happened after that. He remembers his nose getting clogged and his vision getting blurry. His body was cold as something passed right through it. 

Jack’s body fell on the warm sand. “Oh no…not the sleeves!” he complained and groggily sat up in an attempt to shake the grains of sand off, only to discover that his sleeves were wet and the sand had stuck to it. 

“Huh..” he then gasped and suddenly pulled his mirror out, “Oh no, not my hair!” he combed his fingers through his damp blond locks. “Oh what on earth happened to-!” 

“You looked stupid.” a voice said.

Jack looked around and pulled out his invisibility cloak. “Who’s there?” 

“Me.” 

“AH!” he screamed. The girl right next to him and her arms behind her as she leaned on the rock. Her face scrunched as she looked at him, wondering what a dwarf was doing all starry-eyed near a shore. 

At first glance, Jack thought to consider her to be somewhat beautiful, and he probably would’ve if not for that judgmental look on her face. Great, another woman to find him disgusting and hideous. 

“Did you do that?” he sighed as he got up. 

“Yeah, but only cause-” 

“It’s not very befitting of a lady to go splashing a dwarf now is it?” he tried fixing his hair. 

“Well, I did just save you for marrying a fish.” she shrugged. 

“A what?” he questioned. 

The girl shuffled her hands through her pocket, “That fish has intelligence. It puts you under a love spell for you to fall for it.” she finally pulled something out “If you had put that ring on then it would’ve consumed you to the ocean and you would’ve been fish food” she gave him a handkerchief. 

Surprised by the gesture and the new information, he reluctantly accepted it with a small thank you. “What were you doing here?” he asked. 

“The seawater here is surprisingly pure so I like to come here very often to relax.” 

Once he was done drying himself he handed it back to her, “Well milady, I must get going now so,” 

She snorted, “Milady?” 

“Well that’s what you are, aren’t you?” he dully looked at her. 

“No, it’s just that no one ever called me that before.” she laughed.

Jack rolled his eyes and walked off to the forest. The girl had stopped laughing and saw him walking away. 

She ran up to him, “Hey, what are you doing?” 

“Trying to get home,” Jack said. He squinted his eyes, “I could’ve sworn there was a path here before..” he jumped up and down to get a better view. 

“You’re not from around here are you?” she looked at him. 

“I’m afraid not.” he tried to break through the vines. 

The girl stood beside him, “It’s the Amabages Woods.” 

“Ambangles?” 

“Amabages.” she quickly responded, “The woods change paths every time you enter and exit, it’s extremely difficult to get through.” 

“Have you done it before?” he asked. 

“Countless.” she smiled. Now that she did so, Jack was starting to see how her features highlighted her face. 

Trying his best to not make it obvious, he said “Oh..well, I’m actually friends with the Prince and Princess of a certain kingdom so, you’ll be rewarded greatly if you help me through this!” he confidently looked at her.

“Huh, a member of the Fearless Seven asking me for help?” she playfully bent down. 

Jack’s eyes widened and he started stuttering, “Psh what! Fearless Seven? F7 who? Who...who are they?” his voice reached a pitch higher. 

“Well, didn’t they all get turned into dwarves by a princess? They thought she was a witch and she cursed them! How embarrassing for them. I heard the blond one was devastated the most.” she smirked

“Wrong! It was Merlin that son of a-!” he exploded. 

“Aha! Gotcha!” she grinned “So which member are you? I haven’t memorized all their names, I’ve only heard about them from my friend.” Jack looked flustered as he tried to get a hold of his words.

He crossed his arms “Jack. Prince Jack.” he tried his words trying to seem as noble as his human form. 

The girl bent down and gave her hand to him. “I’m Audrey, your highness.”

“Pleasure,” he sighed defeated.

Audrey stood up, “Alright, we’re going to have to move a bit quickly cause you never know when they’re gonna change.” She led him to a new entrance from the far end of the shore. 

The forest was very misty, for someone his height it would be very easy for Jack to get lost. He took a look at Audrey. She was his best bet at getting out and she seemed confident by the way she was walking. 

Jack then looked at her clothes, they were very exquisite in his opinion, he was impressed yet confused. She wore a white cloak that extended until her waist. Her top and skirt was light blue carefully mixed with white, with gold decoration around the edge. But she didn’t seem to be a princess, ‘What’s someone with that clothing doing on the shore?’ he thought.

“So what were you doing on the beach?” she asked. 

“I was trying to find a way to break my curse.” he looked around, “One of the F7 recently got his broken and he looked so happy when he did. So the others and I set out to find a way to break the curse.” 

“And you turn human again?” 

Jack didn’t notice it but he already was his human self as she was walking ahead of him. “Oui, we turn human back again.” 

Audrey looked to her right and walked forward with Jack following, “And how do you break the curse?” At this question, he hesitated. She just might laugh if he told her. He knows he did when he first heard about it. 

“Well-” 

Audrey suddenly looked behind her. Her eyes were alert as she quickly looked left and right. Jack stopped talking and looked around as well, he could sense something as well. “Do you feel it?” she asked. 

“Yes..we should hurry,” he remarked. Audrey nodded and put a finger up to her lips she led the way again. 

The pair made their way through the forest in silence. The quiet and eerie feeling of the forest made Jack feel uneasy, but there was something about being close to this stranger that relaxed him, just a little though. She stopped. 

“Jack,” she said in an extremely quiet voice. He probably wouldn’t have even heard her if she spoke like that back on the beach. “Now is probably a good time to tell you that we’re not the only things alive in the forest.” 

“What?” he said in a loud whisper and asked, “What else is here?” she gestured with her eyes to her right. Jack carefully squinted and then that’s when he saw it, “ _Sacrebleu_ the trees are moving..!” he covered his mouth. 

“Yeah, we’ll be fine if we’re quiet,” and it was at that moment that Audrey bumped into a tree that definitely was not there previously as she turned around. “Ow..” she said “Oh crap.” she realized her mistake. 

Jack looked at the trees and their branches starting moving and swinging ferociously towards them. “Run!” he yelled. Audrey got up and ran along with him. The trees seemed as if they had no mind of their own and just swung at whatever they heard. 

“Watch out!” Audrey saw a branch coming towards Jack so she grabbed his wrist and threw him forward. He screamed until he rolled onto the grass. 

“Urgh..” he groaned before looking ahead.

A stone wall at least 24 meters tall. In other words, a dead end. 

“Is there an exit?” Audrey caught up to him, out of breath. 

“None, it’s only up there!” he looked up then to the forest. They were coming in more aggressively. And then it hit him, 

“Close your eyes.” he looked at her seriously. 

“What?” she looked at him panicked. 

“Just do it!” he yelled looking behind him. Audrey shut her eyes right away, her hand over her head for protection. Jack grabbed her wrist and pushed her against the stone wall. Quickly he got his cloak out and covered the both of them as he stood in front of her. 

“Jack! What’s going on-?” 

“Shh!” although he didn’t cover her mouth but rather her eyes with his free hand. 

The hand..Audrey felt it with her own. They were human fingers, definitely bigger than dwarfs. And not to mention his voice was no longer heard from below but rather almost above her ears. Jack looked behind him and the branches looked left and right as if it were searching for them, even as it got closer it didn’t seem to see them. He sighed in relief as they crawled back into the woods. Jack faced forward again and saw Audrey’s lips pressed together. She was probably anxious.

He finally noted their position and that’s when it hit him. He suddenly felt warm and he swallowed his throat. Jack looked at her lips and wondered…

“Jack? Are we okay?” she whispered. 

He snapped out of his thoughts “Yes, yes we’re fine.” he removed his hand from her eyes and his cloak and tucked it back in his pocket. “Thank you for trusting me.” 

Audrey rubbed her eyes and looked at him. “Is that an invisibility cloak?” she asked.

He proudly smiled “Of course, my greatest weapon.” 

Audrey paused and wondered aloud. “By any chance..do you turn into a human when I don’t look at you?” 

Jack’s eyes widened before going neutral again “Oui, that’s how it works sadly.” he shrugged. 

“I thought so,” she let out a small laugh. Audrey looked up to the rocks above them. “Alright, I can get up there and I’ll throw a rope down once I do.” She moved her cloak to the side and Jack saw several large vials of water there. She uncapped one and lifted her hand over it. When she did so the large liquid lifted itself off the vial. It went underneath her shoes as it lifted her up the cliff.

“Woah..magic?” he looked at her. 

“Not really,” she responded. “Wanna try instead?” she asked once she was up the cliff.

He nodded eagerly which she found adorable. She moved her hands in a manner that the water took the form of a bubble as it went down the wall. “Step inside!” she called from above. He did so and surprisingly, he didn’t fall off. If anything the bubble of water was compact and almost relaxing, although his clothes got wet again, he didn’t seem to mind as he got up. 

“That’s amazing! You’re basically invincible when you’re near an ocean!” he laughed as did she. 

“Thank you.”

The pair walked for a couple of miles more, but neither seemed to mind as they talked about their own stories. 

“Wait, so you offered her a face mask made of poo and she rejected? Oh dear, I wonder why!” she laughed 

“Hey don’t judge!” he did the same. 

A couple of conversations later, Audrey looked ahead in the distance and saw a few figures, “Hey, someone’s coming,” 

Jack looked on ahead to very familiar faces, “A group?” 


	2. A Princess, A Wizard, and Six Dwarfs

“Jack!” they heard someone yell. It was unfamiliar to Audrey but very much so to him. 

He gasped, “It’s them! Hey!” he yelled and ran forward to greet them. 

“Jack! You idiot you’ve been gone for days!” Hans exclaimed. 

“Where were you?” Snow ran up worried and asked. 

“I was trying to break my curse of course,” he explained. 

“Any luck?” Noki asked. 

Before he could respond Merlin looked on ahead. His breath hitched. Audrey made eye contact with him and something came over the both of them. Nostalgia? Merlin’s face was neutral but his eyes were wide, Audrey’s face looked focused as if trying to figure something out. 

“Jack, who is this lovely lady?” Arthur asked. 

Audrey looked at the green dwarf. Including him and Jack there were six dwarfs and two other humans; the boy and girl. Audrey looked at their fingers and saw matching rings. 

“My name is Snow White!” the shorter girl went forward and introduced herself. Audrey felt at ease at the cute girl in front of her so she gave a warm smile, 

“I’m Audrey. I helped Jack here through the woods as well as saving him from getting engaged to a fish,” she smirked at his direction. 

The five dwarves and the human boy laughed, “Seriously, Jack? You of all people?” Merlin taunted him. 

“Oh I wish I could’ve been there,” Arthur said. The triplets couldn’t say anything and only fell on the ground laughing. 

Jack rolled his eyes and chuckled “Oui, oui, that’s enough, haha fun times,” he then quickly whispered to Audrey “I thought that was supposed to be kept between the both of us.” she smiled and shrugged. 

The two continued to talk while the six males looked at the pair, then at each other, then looked back and forth. 

“Oh, apologies I forgot to introduce you,” Jack brought up, “This is Hans, Arthur, Pino, Noki, Kio, and that poor excuse of a pretty boy is Merlin.” 

“Hey,” Merlin glared at him only for Jack to shrug him off.

It was nearly nightfall and the nine of them had decided to camp out before returning back to Goose Avenue. They had camped out on a cliff near a waterfall overviewing the lake. The F7 remained near the fire as the girls sat near the cliff eagerly talking about whatever subject. 

“Hm, is that how girls talk looks like?” Arthur asked. 

“Wouldn’t you like to know, sword boy,” Merlin ate one of the carrots. “So Jack, is she the one to break your curse?” he asked. 

“Audrey? Non, I doubt it.” Jack crossed his arms, “We’ve only met for a day how would I know.” he laughed.

“I dunno, you seemed to have a lot of chemistry with her when you two were arguing. You seem pretty smitten with her too. #obvious.” Kio mentioned while messing with a small contraption. 

Jack scoffed, “How on earth was I obvious?” 

“When we were headed here she lightly stumbled from a pebble and you ran up from the back of the group to ask if she was okay.” Merlin folded one of his spells. 

“It’s not weird to check on your friend when they trip!” Jack ripped open a face mask. 

“So she’s your friend now?” Hans pressed on. “Yes..no? Of course, she is?” he stumbled on his words and sighed, “Look I don’t even know if she’s interested. She doesn’t even know about the cure for the curse.” 

“Why didn’t you tell her?” Arthur asked. 

“Because she might feel obliged to do so, or she’ll think I only became friends with her for that, and I don’t want to drag her in,” he said, applying the face mask on gently. 

“Sounds like you care for her a lot.” Pino suggested. 

“Yeah, besides it doesn’t matter if you only met her for half a day. I mean tons of princes and princess fall in love get married after only knowing each other for like one evening. Cinderella, Ariel, Sleeping Beauty,” Arthur pressed on, “Heck even Merlin and Snow White fell in love after like two evenings of meeting each other!” 

“True, true!” Merlin nodded and pointed his carrot at Arthur then at Jack, “You, my friend, have really got a chance with this girl.” 

Jack only grumbled, “Shut up I’m not supposed to be talking with this on.” 

Meanwhile, Audrey and Snow were laughing on the edge of the waterfall. “You have a crazy story, Snow White. And benching 250? Heck, I can’t even properly lift a tree bark off the ground” Audrey laughed. 

Snow giggled “You can just call me, Snow.” Audrey happily nodded. “How about you? Do you have any cool tricks you can do?” Snow asked. 

Audrey looked out into the sunset as she thought for a while and then proceeded to nod, “Yeah, I’ve got something cool.” 

“What is it?” she eagerly asked. Audrey gestured for her to look at the waterfall. She moved her arms in a manner that a few big droplets came out and floated towards them, “Oh wow! Is that magic?” she asked right away.

“Not really, or at least I don’t think so.” she moved her fingers up and down as if she were manipulating a puppet and the water dancing around Snow before it splashing to her face causing her to laugh. 

“That’s amazing, Audrey.” Hans had called them for dinner and Audrey was able to talk to each of the other dwarves. 

Through their conversations, Jack found his eyes wandering to Audrey. He didn’t know why, but her expressions were just that amusing. They had decided to call it a night when Arthur somehow accidentally threw Excalibur in the stew pot, enraging Hans and causing fits of laughter from the other. 

Morning rose and Audrey awoke to the sound of someone’s voice being called out. 

“What..” she rubbed her eyes and sat up. Everyone else was still asleep with the exception of Snow and Merlin. She stood up and walked towards the waterfall to freshen up. She cupped her hands through the running water and sighed once she drank it from her palms. Audrey repeated the process and splashed the water on her face. 

She then heard shuffling from the right of the forest and she decided to take a look. What surprised her was when Merlin jumped out of the bush causing Audrey to scream. 

“Sorry! Sorry!” he got up removing leaves from his hair. 

“It’s fine.” she put her hand to her chest. Audrey saw that Merlin looked shaken up, “You look troubled, is everything alright?” she asked. 

Merlin sighed, “I can’t find Snow White anywhere. She was already gone when I woke up.” he rubbed his head. 

Audrey thought for a bit, “We should wake the others up.”

“Snow White? No, I was fast asleep the whole night.” Hans said. 

“I wonder what could’ve happened.” she pondered. 

“Snow White’s gone?” Jack woke up yawning. Audrey put her hand over her mouth and looked away trying to hide her laughter. He looked at her strangely “What?” 

“You didn’t remove your face mask,” she snarked. 

“My face..?” he put his tiny fingers to his face and gasped, “But I did! How did this-” the triplets started to laugh and Jack understood before throwing the mask at them, “This had special ingredients you owe me another!” he shouted. 

He turned his attention to Audrey who didn’t bother hiding her laughter anymore. Unbeknownst to him, seeing her laugh made him smile a bit and laugh as well. The triplets grinned at each other from the sight. 

“Um yeah, sorry to interrupt but my wife is missing!” Merlin crossed his arms. 

“Don’t worry,” Audrey clipped her coat on “I’m sure she couldn’t have gone far,” as soon as she had said that they heard a voice from below 

“Hey!!” 

Merlin and Audrey looked at each other then ran to the edge of the cliff. Down below was Snow waving at them. 

“Snow! What are you doing down there?” Merin yelled. 

“I went exploring and got us some fish for breakfast!” she called back. 

Audrey’s eyes widened, “Snow no! That lake isn’t meant for fishing! It’s the home of a-” she was cut off as Snow White screamed as something dragged her in the lake. 

“Snow White!!” Merlin yelled. 

“What happened?” the dwarves rushed to their side. 

“Snow fished in the lake of a Deummare, that’s like…” Audrey tried to think of a comparison, “Stealing from the Beast’s castle!” 

Merlin grunted and jumped from the cliff onto passing rocks where Snow had been dragged. 

“Merlin wait!” Audrey yelled. She jumped on the same rocks he had and tackled Merlin to the ground who already took one of his spells out. 

“What are you doing?! Snow is in danger!” he argued trying to get his wrists free from her. 

“Your magic is lightning is it not?! You’re gonna electrocute her if you use that! She’s under the water!” she shouted back. 

Merlin’s expressions softened from an angry one to a worried one. “Then what do you suggest we do?”

Audrey stood up and looked at the lake. “I’ll get her back. You need to start packing everything up.” she addressed the F7. “As soon as Snow is back with you guys you run right away. There is no way we’re fighting a Deummare.” she turned to the lake once more and saw a large blob of water rise up. The entire body was made of water but it almost looked like a chubby octopus. 

“What about you?” Jack shouted. 

“I’ll catch up with you guys! But you have to make sure you run as soon as she’s with you guys!” Jack frowned and hesitated. 

Audrey walked towards the water. Merlin’s eyes thought they were deceiving him but her feet didn’t seem to sink into the surface. They were on the liquid.

“Merlin,” she spoke, grabbing his attention. A few meters offshore she bent down and placed her hand in the water for a few seconds. When she pulled it back up there was water dripping from her hand, but something formed around it. A whip. A whip made of water. “Start climbing back up. I’m gonna throw Snow to you and you have to catch her.” she cracked it once on the water. 

“Now that’s bloody amazing,” Arthur stared in awe. 

“Could she do that?” Hans asked Jack. 

He nodded, “I’ve never seen her use it like this though.” “

Alright..“ She faced the Deummare. She started a walk that changed to a fast pace to a sprint then sunk underwater. 

“She’s drowned!” Hans screamed.

After he had said that Audrey popped up right in front of the water beast and jumped mid-air. Her eyes scanned but she couldn’t find Snow. 

“C’mon no time to watch! We have to get all this stuff!” Kio shouted at them. The three dwarves nodded and run to the triplets to help, Jack looked back once more before joining them. Audrey lifted her hand up to support herself as a geyser of water came up which she stood upon. “Snow!” she yelled, 

“Mheri!!” she heard a gurgle. 

Her eyes saw Snow at the bottom left tentacle. “Hang on!” she yelled. She threw the whip in her direction, it went past the body and wrapped itself around Snow’s waist. Audrey gripped it and pulled with all her strength but the body of the beast had too much pressure. Clicking her tongue in annoyance she lifted her fingers off the whip and raised her hand up in the air. A blast of water arose below Snow and pushed her out of the body. 

“Merlin!” she shouted, not knowing if he would hear her. Luckily he had just gotten up to the cliff and heard her. 

Audrey used her arms to throw Snow his way. The whip was made of water, meaning it could extend a great length but that would also mean the water thins as it goes further, depending on how much volume of water she used. Snow screamed as she was swung all the way across the lake into Merlin’s arms, who tumbled back as she crashed into him. “Snow, are you okay?” he asked. 

“I’m fine,” she said getting up and squeezing the water out of her dress. 

“We’re done here let’s go!” said Noki. 

“What about Audrey?” Snow asked as she was guided by Merlin. 

“She said she’d meet us! Let’s go!” he urged her. 

They ran off into the thicker part of the woods. Something irked Jack’s mind, however. Something didn’t seem right. He tried to ignore it the first few steps but he just kept looking back. He had to go back. 

He grumbled and turned his heel “You guys go on ahead, I’m going back!” he stated. 

“Jack no!” Snow reached out. 

“Trust him!” Arthur spoke. “We have to get away!” 

Jack ran back as far as he could. Meanwhile, Audrey was struggling to escape the beast. She had tried making a run for it but it’s arms just kept pulling her down the water. She grunted as she tried to lift a pillar of water up but it didn’t respond. 

She then realized “The entire lake is the monster..” this was bad. 

Jack had seen Audrey get lifted up by her wrist. “I’ve got to distract it..” he thought. He then saw the still-alive fish that Snow White had caught earlier and that’s when the idea rushed to his head. 

“This was a bad idea..” Audrey said to herself as she struggled to free herself. The water no longer responded to her and she couldn’t free the water from her own vials. “Crap..crap..crap..!!” she panicked. “

HEY!” the blob shifted (what Audrey and Jack assumed to be-) it’s head. Jack stared it down, he looked it straight in the eyes as he raised a live fish in his hand and hit it against the rock. Audrey scrunched her face when she heard the sound. There was a loud deep groan that resonated through the forest making it shake. The blob dropped Audrey into the lake as it went after Jack, throwing in a blast of water at his direction.

Jack quickly covered himself in his cloak and dodged it, not stopping anywhere in the chance he might get hit, seen or not seen. Audrey rose to the surface and lifted her whip up, throwing it to a nearby branch and pulling her out of the water. 

“Jack!” she called out once she hit the grass, “Where are you-” 

“Right here!” 

“Ah!” she screamed as Jack unveiled himself right next to her. 

“Are you okay?” he asked, helping her up. 

“Yeah thanks, let’s get out here!” she ducked with him a blast of water made its way towards them. “This way!” she grabbed his hand and turned the other way. They sprinted through the thick forest, dodging water pulses every now and then. 

Jack, now a human, felt his heart race. It probably could have been the fact that they were running away from the certain death that was creeping upon them, but something told him otherwise as he looked at his hand that was currently clasped by Audrey’s. 

He can’t be falling for her, can he? He took a look at her short wavy brown hair. They were giving off a scent..what was it..lavender? Oh…was Kio right? Did he really like her?

“Jack? Jack!” he jolted at the voice as he looked up at Audrey, her face filled with concern as she looked at him. “Are you okay?” 

He cleared his throat as his face suddenly became warm which was ironic because he was soaking wet “Yeah, I’m fine don’t worry.” 

“Guys!” the two heard Merlin’s voice and saw the rest of the group. 

“Audrey, Jack! Are you guys okay? I’m so sorry!” Snow White ran towards them 

“It’s alright, Snow. You didn’t know, I’m just glad you’re okay.” she smiled. 

“Jeez, Jack, you’re soaking wet!” Arthur looked at him. 

“Yeah, Audrey, how are you not wet?” he asked, squeezing his sleeves off. He didn’t really fancy getting his clothes wet twice the past two days. 

“I can choose not too.” she shrugged. 


	3. A Cottage and A Lake

The nine of them walked west for a few more miles. They were getting to know Audrey by asking her a series of questions about her powers and such. Truth be told she had no idea how she got them either, so her answers were very limited. 

“So let me get this straight, you can control water? And you can make weapons out of them?” Arthur asked her. 

“Yeah, pretty much.” she nodded, recalling the time she once formed tiny wheels to make roller blades (they didn't have those yet in Fairy Tale Island). 

“Could you make a gun?” Noki asked grinning. 

Audrey laughed, “That’s funny, me making a gun out of water,” she continued to laugh until her face turned serious as she put her hand under her chin as if in serious thought _“Huh..”_

Snow and Hans were ahead of the group as they talked, leaving Merlin and Jack to chat. “So, did you save her life, or did she save yours?” Merlin asked a little curious about the event that happened when they were away. 

“A little bit of both,” he said honestly “I was brilliant as ever though.” a smug grin came to his face as he pulled his mirror out. 

“Your hands smell like the mucus of fish.” Hans pointed out from the front. 

“I did what I had to.” Jack sharply said as he side-eyed him.

The group came to a halt when they saw a horse clopping towards them. It looked like a palace horse, but no one seemed to be riding it. 

Snow squinted her eyes, “Is that..?” 

“Hello, dwarves!” a funky voice sounded from the horse. 

“Horses can talk, I’ve seen it all now.” Audrey looked at it up and down. 

“No, over..here!” the horse moved sideways to reveal a small green dwarf with slicked-back gold haired. 

“Another dwarf? No…wait is that Average?” Merlin peered in. 

_“Ah-ve-rahge!”_ he corrected. “Even when you’re human you’re still stupid.” he mumbled, 

“So you got cursed as well?” Jack asked him.

“Shut it!” he said in a high pitched voice, “This is only temporary and I will get my kiss! So, where’s that beautiful girl who was supposed to attend my party like, months ago?” 

“Uhh…” Snow looked sideways. 

Average then suddenly gasped, “It’s you!” he pointed directly at Audrey, furious as he glared at her with his wide eyes. 

“Er, have we met?” she cocked her head in confusion. 

“You still haven’t apologized for making it rain on my coronation!” 

Audrey looked at him for a bit and squinted her eyes in confusion, she looked to the side before gasping and putting her fist above her palm, “Oh you’re that prince!” 

“You made me slip and made the crown land on a passing pig’s head! The jewels fell off and they could get it out because the pigs ate them! I have pig waste jewels on my head right now, apologize!” 

The nine of them looked at Audrey who crossed her arms and dully averted her gaze…before a small smile and snicker were on her face in the recollection of the event 

“Heh..” 

“Stop laughing!” he yelled. The others behind her laughed as well. Average grumbled “Fine! Have it your way, I know who you really are! I know what you did on May 28th several years ago! I know your true natur-” 

Audrey had uncapped her vials and pushed him off his horse and sent him flying in the distance. Popping them back on she noted “He talks too much,” this resulted in fits of laughter of the group as she joined in, feeling a little proud of herself but at the same time a little sorry for Average. 

The sun was starting to set and they were near their destination already, however they thought that it would be nice to camp one more night as this was something they didn’t get to do often. Audrey had led them through a small yet thick forest; it was as if the place they were going to was hidden from the public view, and only she knew how to get there. Finally, the breaking free of the bushes and what they saw was remarkable. 

“Wow...this is beautiful,” Hans looked around the green and lush flower field. The air was so pure, the lake (which Audrey assured it was not a demon-filled monster one) was pure blue, reflecting the clouds in the blue sky. The colorful flowers decorated the grassy fields and fresh wind ran past them. It was something out of a dream.

Jack stared in awe “Where did you find this place?” 

“I like to wander around a lot, it’s my secret field.” she responded with a small smile on her face. No matter how many times she came here, she would never get tired of the view. 

The triplets, Snow, and Merlin ran around the field exploring while Jack, Audrey, Hans, and Arthur went inside the small cottage that Audrey called home. 

It was homely and had a little water wheel just beside it. “This house is adorable!” Hans noted. 

“There’s a kitchen there so you can cook,” she smiled, to which Hans gave her a grateful look. 

“It’s just one room so we’ll all have to sleep in the same place. Is that okay?” she asked looking around. 

“Yes!” Jack immediately replied looking at her. 

“Oh..” she looked back at him before letting out a small laugh “Okay, great.” she walked out of the door to check on the others. 

“Obvious…” Arthur sang while looking around at the furniture. 

Audrey walked over to the triplets who were currently taking pictures of the pretty flowers. To her right, she saw Snow making a flower crown for Merlin as they sat on the field. She couldn’t help but blush and smile at the action, it was adorable. Audrey decided to walk over to the lake and dip her hands in it. The water was cold, but it always relaxed her for some strange reason. 

“Audrey!” she turned behind her to see Snow walking towards her with something in her hands; Merlin a few steps behind her, wearing flowers on his head. “This is for you!” she presented her with a similar flower crown she had given Merlin. 

The action made Audrey’s heart warm-up, “Oh Snow..it’s beautiful thank you!” she put it on then thought for a bit. “I wish I could thank you somehow..” Audrey then turned to both of them “Have you guys ever been on a water slide?”

Moments later Snow, Merlin, and the triplets were having the time of their lives as they moved swiftly around the lake. Audrey had raised her arms and conducted the water as it moved in various directions, had loops, and occasionally made them free fall every now and then. Jack, Hans, and Arthur had heard the commotion had stepped outside the cabin just in time to see Merlin thrown up in the air only to land on Kio who threw him in the lake, causing them to laugh. 

Audrey saw them out of the corner of her eye and playfully moved her right arm towards them. The water from the leaked and slithered towards them and literally swept them off their feet. The joyous laughter as she brought them on the same slide made Audrey happy. Seeing people happy and content because of something she did was something she always looked for. It was usually with children but she helped the adults of nearby townsfolk too with her hydrokinesis. 

It was at this point where Audrey felt the urge to do something a bit selfish. Carefully, as her other hand was conducting the water slide, she moved her left hand and used her pointer finger to create a new, thinner slide which she had the current push Jack onto. The slide led to her side as he tumbled on the grass. As for the others, she sent the slide on autopilot to the far end of the lake, just enough to buy her time for a conversation. 

“What’s going on?” Jack laughed getting up. 

“I’m sorry your clothes keep getting wet cause of me,” she threw a worried smile at him. 

Jack shook his head, “It will, take some time to dry clean…but if it’s for your amusement then I suppose I can bear that,” he chuckled. 

“Aww you’d do that for me?” she sat down next to him. 

“Almost anything,” he said thoughtlessly.

“Whatcha say?” 

“Almost..!! Uh, nothing, forget it.” he said. Audrey laughed, the laugh that Jack was starting to find charming.

He finally started to realize the many reasons why he took a great liking to her in a matter of two days. She helped him with the fish proposal not even knowing who he was. And even when she did find out he was a hideous dwarf, that didn’t seem to bother her at all and offered to guide him through the forest. The first few months of the spell weren’t that easy. He had tried to talk to women as if he would normally but he was shunned out and they became disgusted to look at him. 

Meanwhile here she was, laughing with him normally as if he were human. 

_‘No..’_ he thought. _‘She’s with me regardless of who I am’_. 

He didn’t know what came over him when he left this group and came to help her this morning. But he just had the feeling that he would be devastated if something happened to her. 

“You looked stupid when you said that,” she laughed as did he.

That was another thing. She was able to be playful with him by insulting him even though she knew he was a prince. Everyone had always treated him with respect. Authorities were formal, the staff was uptight, ladies were changing themselves just to win his favor. Audrey…Audrey didn’t do any of that. She didn’t do anything to make him like her. Heck, she even threw him across the woods and doused him with water more times than he can count.

“I guarantee you the ugliest face I can make is still prettier than yours.” he crossed his arms. 

Audrey made an overdramatic gasp and it wasn’t that hard for her to tumble him over the grass. They burst into fits of laughter and Audrey too fell on the grass holding her stomach. 

Sitting up, she looked around “Jack?” he was nowhere to be seen, “Where did you go?” putting her hair to the side she scanned the field trying to point him out. Suddenly her something covered her eyes 

“Ahh!” 

“Shh shh, it’s just me,” he chuckled. He stood behind her, his hands over her eyes. 

“Using your cloak to deceive me? What a fox,” she chuckled, using her hands to feel his. 

“Well, it was worth it to see your reaction,” he shrugged “Who knew you were so jumpy.” 

“Watch it, your highness. I can still throw you into the lake blindfolded!” 

Jack laughed and then clapped his hands once. “Oh! Give me a second,” he removed his hands from her eyes and took something out of his pocket. 

Audrey opened her eyes only to have them covered once more. “What’s this?” she put her fingers up and felt a soft fabric. 

“A blindfold,” he simply said, “I use it as a handkerchief. Don’t worry I clean it as soon as I finish using it, but it’s mostly just covered with the water you doused me in now.” he crossed his arms in amusement. 

Audrey giggled, “So you’re human now?” 

“Well, with or without the blindfold I’m still behind you.” 

“Think I could fight you like this?” 

Jack laughed, “I’d like to see that attempt.”

Not far off, the rest of the group had emerged from the lake, squeezing the water off their clothes. 

“Oh, look at the two lovebirds,” Arthur gestured to the opposite end of the lake. 

“Don’t look at them! He wants to be human for a bit!” Snow moved his head away, ushering him inside the cottage. “Let’s go inside the house, leave them be!” she excitedly said. 

“Well aren’t you little miss cupid,” Merlin said smiling as Snow giggled. 

Night had overtaken the sky and the stars came out. Hans had the pleasure of cooking up a feast for the group. A ‘mukbang’ as he had called it. It was mostly seafood as that was all they had, but they all enjoyed it nonetheless. After dinner, they turned it into a game night where they played a game of blindfolded twister (the F7 faced the other way when it was Snow and Audrey’s turn) While Merlin and Arthur were arguing over whose hand was on the red spot (it was Noki’s who wasn't even on the mat) Audrey sighed in content. 

She had never had a group of friends to stay with. With this group, she finally felt happy and relaxed. Snow White was one of her first female friends she could really relate to, she already valued their friendship more than most people she had met. With Arthur, she could have fun whenever she wanted to do something stupid. She could turn to Hans when she needed a meal or just someone to talk to in general, he would never tell anyone. Merlin..well she wasn’t quite there with him yet. 

She knows they both noticed something off about each other when they first met, but regardless they were still kind to each other and they worked well as a team. With the triplets she could literally goof off with them, trying all their latest inventions and using her powers as a test-runner.

And Jack.. 

She looked at him from across the room, rolling his eyes at something Arthur had said in a comical way. Audrey had grown a soft spot for him. She had a hunch as to what it was but didn’t want to admit it to herself just yet. It could’ve just been a temporary feeling, it was too early to tell. But what she does know for certain is that she does care for him greatly, and he is very important to her.

She thought of this as she tried to sleep on the couch, tossing and turning. Unable to sit still anymore as she was wide awake, she sat up. She looked at the dark moonlit room where everyone else was sound asleep. She and Snow had been offered to sleep on the couch while the rest slept on chairs and pillows on the floor. Seeing as she couldn’t sleep any more she carefully made her way to the door, cautious not to step on anyone else.

Quietly she pulled the door handle down and escaped closing it behind her. The fresh night air hit her nose and she happily took it in. Walking down the stairs accompanied by the sound of wood and water moving she made her way to the right section of the field. Audrey liked looking at the lake in the evening. The water was so pure that it clearly reflected the stars in the sky, almost making it look like another dimension if you jumped in it (she tried).

While she appreciated the cool wind, sometimes it was too chilly that she got colds sometimes. 

“I forgot my cloak inside,” she mumbled as she rubbed her arms.

When she had said that she felt something soft and warm on her shoulders. Human hands. 


	4. A Midnight Dance

She turned around, “And if I may ask, what are you doing up so late?” Jack greeted her from below. She noticed that he had put his invisibility cloak on her as a way to protect her from the cold night winds. _Very prince-like._

The look of surprise turned into a lazy smile, “Isn’t it obvious? Look at it.” she motioned to the field, lake, and sky. 

“Yes, I figured. Beautiful.” he looked at it “Where I come from you can’t possibly get the sky to look like this. A perk of living outside the palace walls, I suppose.”

“I would come here every night just to do this. I’m lucky others haven’t found it yet, I don’t want them to, even if that sounds a little selfish,” she told him

“Not at all,” he agreed “Anyone would want to keep a place this beautiful to themselves. With the rapid technology and empires, they’re conquering, they’re not leaving much left for nature. What a wonderful life you must have had, seeing this whenever you want.”

Audrey turned to him “How about you? What did you do before becoming part of the F7?” 

“Me?” he turned his head to her and thought for a bit, “Before a prince I wasn’t..that well off, but we don't have to go into that. After a series of events though I became a normal, but wealthy prince. Several studies to keep up with to groom me for the throne. I took an interest in fashion and well, overall beauty products and jewelry.” 

“Obviously,” she chuckled.

“I was at average on academics, but I did play a lot of games with my physical education teacher. I had a good instinct and was good with my wit and..charms.” he combed his hair through his fingers, causing Audrey to playfully roll her eyes. “Aside from that..fencing, etiquette, attending meetings, and..dancing.” 

“Dancing?” she asked right away. 

“Hm? Yes, it was a must for a prince who went to several parties and balls.” 

“Huh..” Audrey thought. 

“Have..you ever danced?” Jack asked.

She laughed “I wish. I'm a commoner and I travel from town to town so I haven’t really been to any balls or parties, just festivals mostly. Even then I didn't dance with the crowd.” 

Jack paused for a moment, “Would you like me to teach you?” 

Audrey raised her eyebrows, “Really?” 

He nodded, “Obviously I can’t teach you like this so you’d need to close your eyes. A bit risky but interesting, no? I promise I won’t let you fall or trip. Trust me.” he told her. 

Audrey stared at him for a bit then nodded. Jack smiled then turned around walking a few steps away from her before facing her again and bowing. Audrey curtsied with her skirt. 

“Alright, close your eyes,” and she did as he said. 

When he had lifted his head back up his human face was revealed.

He walked towards her, stopping for a moment before taking her hand with his own and raising it to the side. “Just put your hand here,” he said softly as he guided her other hand to his arm and he put that hand on her waist. “Nervous?” he asked in a soft whisper. 

“A bit,” she admitted. 

“It’s alright, I’m right here, in front of you. Follow my lead.” he brushed his thumb over her hand in assurance and couldn’t hold back a smile. 

He started gently first swaying left and right. Once he saw that she had gotten comfortable he turned in a different direction. Audrey got the hang of it and soon they were circling the field. A smile had adorned her face as she was relaxed now. The movement of her feet around grass had caused the fireflies to come out. Neither of them noticed however as one was blind and the other, well, was focused on her.

They were so caught up in their dance that they hadn’t noticed that they had shifted from land to water. Jack had spun Audrey several as they laughed. He had dipped her several times, as her feet skidded across the moonlit starry lake. Jack looked at her face, clearly love-struck. It was then and there that he knew he wanted to have more nights with her, just like this one. For Audrey, the word ‘happy’ wasn’t enough to describe what she was feeling. This was something that only happened in a fairy tale.

She had dreams of falling in love with someone like this. Audrey knew for sure that she wanted to be with Jack, regardless of whether he broke his curse or not.

Moments later they sat on the lake, Audrey’s hand over Jack’s as to prevent him from falling right through the water. 

Audrey finally opened her eyes “Oh..we’re on the lake,” she looked around and chuckled. 

“I only noticed when we stopped, pretty right?” Jack said and she nodded in agreement. There was silence for a moment.

“Hey, Jack?” 

“Hm?” 

“..Can I ask about your curse?” 

Jack paused, “What about it?” 

Trying her words carefully she asked, “How do you break it?” 

He let out an empty laugh, “I was sure you were going to ask that sooner or later,”

Audrey looked at him and he could only look away, “I didn’t want to tell you because..well I don’t want you to feel like you have to help me.” 

“Regardless of what it is I’m still going to help you, that was a given,” she told him. 

Jack faced her a bit with a small smile, “Thank you..” he took a deep breath, “In order to break the curse..” he paused, “you’d have to kiss the most beautiful woman in the world.” 

She looked shocked for a bit, but Jack still didn’t look at her. “I see..”

…

“..and you thought blindly going into the ocean would break that curse?”

Jack looked at her mortified as she tried to hold back a smile, which wasn’t really working. 

He used his free hand to splash a large amount of water to her face “Honestly, Audrey! Be serious!” he cried out with laughter as did she, and this action only proved his previous point about being himself around her.

Once they had calmed down they continued. “So..a kiss from the most beautiful girl huh?” she said. 

“Yes but…I think I finally understand what that truly means.” he told her “I don’t…I don’t think the princess who cursed us literally meant for us to kiss the most beautiful woman in the world. One would think that meant she had to be gorgeous and stunning, but I think otherwise.” Audrey listened to him intently “After seeing how Merlin and Snow broke his curse, I think the word beautiful doesn’t mean beauty or looks,” he looked at her

“It’s about the person you find who is beautiful in heart and virtue,” 

Audrey stared at him and he looked her in the eye. He put his other hand on top of hers, 

“Audrey, I kept thinking about it ever since we escaped the woods, it was a process but after tonight I think..no, I know I want to still know you even more after this.” 

Her eyes went into a light shock and her face went a bit pink “But...” 

“I know; if you don’t feel the same or don’t want to kiss me, I can respect that.”

“No..! No, I,” she smiled a bit “I feel the same way about you. I wouldn’t have it any other way” When he heard that Jack felt as if nothing else mattered. He was beyond happy and nothing could ruin it.

He put his other hand on hers “Then...if it's alright with you, close your eyes,” he whispered. 

She gave a soft smile and did so. Jack lovingly looked at her, telling himself that this was the one thing he was so sure of, that he wouldn’t have any regrets.

Audrey felt her head leaning in so close that she could feel his breathing near her lips. And that’s when it started. The flashbacks of what happened on May 28th. Why did Average have to mention that earlier? She tried so hard to bury that memory. She was scared. No..this can’t happen.

“No!” she pushed him away, terrified. 

Jack, who still held on to her hand, looked confused and hurt, “Audrey? Are you okay?” 

“No, Jack,” she suddenly looked worried for him, “I’m sorry it’s not you. It’s..” she took a deep breath and looked at the passing fish underneath them, “Remember when we met Average earlier?” 

“You’re in love with him?!” he looked shocked. 

“No! No, god no.” she assured him, “No, what he said about me doing something on May 28th.” 

"I paid no mind to that, everything he says is rubbish anyway.” Jack shrugged.

Audrey looked at him, nearly tearing up before giving an empty laugh, “God, you’re making this so much harder,” he didn’t say anything to let her continue “Something did happen that day five years ago. There was a flood,” she recalled “I went to a village with a friend of mine and on that day their dam broke and the waters came crashing down on the village. I could’ve saved them but at the time, my friend had fallen into an ice lake and was drowning. I wasn’t close enough to use my powers to save them both. I had to pick one.” 

She inhaled a large amount of air then let it go, “I chose my friend, Jack.” she laughed and this time couldn’t hold back the tears that pooled in her eyes.“I let several lives be ruined, lives I could’ve saved instead of one.” 

He quickly responded “Audrey, you’re not responsible for their lives. It was a natural disaster, it happens. You need to help those around you before you help others-” 

“Jack,” she cried out, “I can’t be the girl with virtue and heart. Kissing me won’t work.” 

“But, Audrey,” he let out a laugh, “I-” 

“I don’t deserve to be with you. I’m sorry, Jack. I can’t be that girl for you.” she removed the invisibility cloak and draped it on him. 

Jack stared at it then at her, “Audrey, what are you-”

“Goodbye, Jack.” she let go of his hands and he fell into the water. 

“No wait-mgh!” Audrey moved her hand forward so that the current would gently push him onto the shore. 

Once she had done so she ran across the water. As he got onto shore Jack’s vision became blurry. He saw he was human and reached out to a small figure in the distance before he passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song that they dance to is Merry Go Round of Life! https://youtu.be/UwxatzcYf9Q


	5. Somewhere to Belong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! There are more stories that go around the group as a whole as each of the princes try to break their curses, give them a read!

“Jack..!” he heard faintly. 

_‘Audrey..?’_ he looked around but couldn’t see anything 

“Jack!” 

“Throw him into the water again, maybe that’ll wake him up.” 

“He’s been thrown in water too many times, Merlin.” 

“We could try the alarm clock we made!” 

“That would probably break his and our eardrums.” 

“Audrey!” he sat up immediately breathing like crazy as he held his hand towards his chest. 

“Jack! You’re awake, are you okay?” Snow knelt down beside him in worry.

“What happened?” he asked, rubbing his head.

“We found you here by the lake,” Arthur told him, crossing his arms. 

Jack then remembered, “Audrey, where is she?!” he looked around frantically. 

“We were hoping you’d tell us.” Snow responded worriedly. 

“Her cloak and belt are still in there, but we haven’t seen her since last night,” Kio explained. 

“We were hoping you’d know,” Noki interjected. 

“Oh, no..oh no no no it’s my fault. I told her about the curse and she got scared and she ran away because of it.” he gripped the sand. 

“That doesn’t sound like Audrey.” Merlin thought seriously then looked at Jack, “She wouldn’t run away just because of that. Did something else happen?” 

“I..” he stammered, “That doesn’t matter now, I need to find her. Where could she be..” he stood up and paced around. 

“Did she say anything during your time together? A home?” Hans asked. 

“No, she told me she was always wandering around the world and that..” an epiphany came to mind. He nodded, “I know where she is. And if I’m correct I have to get there as fast as possible she could be in danger.” he properly put his cloak on. 

“You lot should get back to the White Palace-” 

“That’s not happening, lad.” Arthur crossed his arms. 

“That’s right, Audrey is one of us now.” Hans nodded. 

“And if you say she’s in danger,” Snow continued. 

“Then we’re going as well,” Merlin started bringing one of his spells out. 

Jack looked at them and gave the most adorable dwarf smile. “Merci, mon ami.” he said gratefully

“We need to get there quickly, how do we-” A loud sound that made them jump off the ground was heard and they whipped their head around. What seemed to be the newest contraption of the triplet inventors hovered over the field of flowers. 

“Get in!” they popped their heads out. 

South West from where they were Audrey jumped down from the 24-foot cliff and landed in a bush. As she got up she looked at a certain spot in the wall. Something clenched in her heart but she disregarded it and moved forward. She untucked her hair as a guide for knowing where the wind was blowing. Audrey thought about everything she and Jack went through. Their conversations, her encounters with the group, and all the fun they had. 

She stopped for a moment, “Was that really the right decision?” she asked herself.

Deep in her thoughts, she aimlessly walked around the woods. It was only when she lightly stumbled from a rock did she realize; she couldn’t feel the wind anymore. 

Audrey frantically looked around, this was not a path she was familiar with. “Crap...I must’ve wandered off the trail.” she gasped when she heard something behind her. 

In the dark, she saw something slither into a tree. Instinctively, she slowly reached for her belt, only her hand to touch the fabric of her skirt. She had left it in the cabin, and there was no water in a dead forest. She was defenseless.

Panicked, she looked around her surroundings, it had gone quiet. Something then wrapped around her ankle and violently pulled her in, and she didn’t have enough time to scream as her head hit the edge of a rock. 

\---

“Are we there yet?” Jack asked. 

“Just about,” Noki replied, checking the controls on the machine

“Everyone stand on the doors. We’ll open them once we’re closer to the trees!” Kio told them 

“Everyone ready?” Snow asked, rolling up her sleeves. 

“As I’ll ever be,” Arthur unsheathed Excalibur. 

“Lead the way,” Hans nodded at Jack. 

The five of them stood at the platform. Merlin looked over at Jack who looked anxious. He put a hand on his back, “Hey,” Jack looked at him, “we’re gonna find her. Don’t worry.” 

Jack smiled gratefully “Thank you, Merlin.”

“T-Minus 12 seconds!” Pino yelled. 

Jack reminded the group once more “Remember if you ever get lost just look for the wind and follow it. Don’t make too much noise so you-” 

What happened was that Kio had pushed the lever by accident with his elbow, causing them to scream as they fell unexpectedly. They fell through the branches and got separated. Jack looked up and scanned his surroundings. 

“Merlin, Jack, are you guys okay?” Snow whispered. 

“Yeah..” they both got up and crowded together, “Looks like we got separated from Arthur and Hans.” Merlin looked around. 

They heard a loud scream from their left and saw the seventh and sixth members of the Fearless Seven. 

“We’re okay!” Arthur shouted to a mortified trio. “We’ll handle this part, but hurry and find her! We can’t hold them back for long.” They nodded and continued their way through the forest. 

“There’s too much mist,” Merlin waved his arms around. 

Snow gasped, “Merlin watch out!” she held a vine headed towards her way and broke it in half before it slithered back into the trees. 

“Thanks, Snow.” Merlin huffed. More came crawling their way. “Well so much for being quiet,” he said in a normal voice. 

Jack looked left and right, “Merlin, you take the ones on the right, Snow White north, I’ll-” 

_“Jack!”_

He immediately whipped his head around, “Audrey?” he whispered looking around. 

“Jack it’s me, Audrey! Where are you?” she cried out. 

“Audrey, I’m here!” he called out through the thick fog.

“Jack, go!” Merlin used his spells on the vines, generating electricity and frying them. 

“We’ll cover you here, hurry!” Snow threw a giant branch to a vine. 

Jack nodded and ran through the mist. Out of sight from Snow and Merlin, his human body covered much more distance. 

He heard something crack and a tree swung its branches into his direction. He covered himself in his cloak and dodged it. Several more attacks came on the way and he was able to dodge them successfully until one vine got a hold of his ankle, twisting it as it pulled him down. 

He screamed in pain and he fell to the ground. He took his mirror out and smashed it on the ground. 

Jack picked up one of the shards and cut the vine off. The excess vine wrapped around him swiveled in pain before letting go. Jack grunted and got up. The stinging sensation on his ankle made his search ten times harder. He groaned in frustration and used his cloak to quickly tie it up. Once he had made the knot he heard another set of branches cracking. 

Picking one of the shards up he readied himself. 

“Jack,” 

He widened his eyes. He pushed past the bushes and saw Audrey in the middle of a small patch of ground with no plants. 

“Audrey!” he beamed and tried to run to her before he stumbled but still managed to keep his ground. 

“Jack, you’re here...Why are you-” 

“I’ll explain everything later, Audrey." he gestured with his hand and looked behind for a bit, "Right now we need to-” 

“Where are you?” she looked around. 

“I-I’m right here Audrey, right in front of you,” he assured her stretching out his hand. 

That’s when he realized, he was still human. 

“What,” he looked at himself and sure enough he had all his human limbs. Jack touched his face, “I don’t understand..this doesn’t make sense..what on-” 

“I don’t know where you are...” she cried. 

That’s when Jack noticed her eyes. Her eyes had gone grey. She was blind.

“Audrey, what happened to you?” he asked heartbrokenly. 

“T-The vines. You have to be careful.” she panted holding her hands to her chest. Audrey was scared. 

“Alright...I’m coming to you, it’s alright I’ll be there soon. Er..” he thought as he limped towards her, “Talk to me. Why did you run off?” 

Her breathing became ragged, “Jack, I can’t break your curse. Even though I have feelings for you my heart isn’t pure enough to turn you into a human. You don't know the other things I did in the past. What I had to do to keep living.” Though the middle part made him very happy in the midst of this he focused on the task ahead. 

“Audrey, don’t you see?” he laughed. 

“No not really,” she said. 

“No, yes my bad. What I mean is, I don’t care whether my curse is broken or not at this point! My heart knows what it wants and that’s you, to be with you!” Jack heard a crack in her voice

“But I’ve caused so many lives-” 

“Listen to me,” Jack told her now two meters away from her, “It doesn’t matter to me who you were before, what matters is who you choose to be now.” he looked at her glass eyes and her a sincere smile that even she could feel, 

“My feelings for you are the same regardless, Audrey.” she finally let her hands off her chest and gave a small smile as she reached out. 

Unkowest to him the vines had snuck on him and grabbed his face, latching themselves onto his eyes. 

“Argh!” he groaned out. 

“Jack!” Audrey screamed. 

A separate set of vines pulled her in through her wrists as she struggled. Jack cried out of pain as he managed to remove the vine, however his eyes turned glassy and he slowly lost his vision. The stinging sensation in his ankle didn’t make it better either as he toppled to the ground. He called out for Audrey with a weak voice as he started to pass out from the pain. Audrey didn’t have enough strength to free herself as she became shackled to the tree. 

It was quiet. Neither of them moved from where they were. The vines had stopped moving and not even their rustling or the wind could be heard. Jack’s breaths couldn’t be made out and Audrey’s struggling movements stopped.

Then her fist closed. She twisted her wrist repeatedly and got herself loose. Jack had pulled his leg up to free them from the attached plants. Using all of their strength to get to the other, they didn’t know the other was doing the same until they heard each other as they drew closer to the center. They didn’t care how much pain was in their body, they had to get to each other. 

“Audrey,” he breathed out once he finally touched her arms. 

No longer able to move their legs they fell into each other. Unable to see each other, they both let out chuckles as Jack touched her face, 

**“Don’t ever run away from me again,”**

**“How could I?”**

The moment they had kissed Audrey felt his face get warm. Jack’s body glowed a golden light that lit up a great portion of the forest, killing the undead vines nearby. He slowly opened his eyes. His body had never felt better. All of the pain from his body was gone and could see again. He was reminded of the moment when Snow had broken Merlin's curse and he had come back to life. Audrey had collapsed into his arms, her ragged breathing starting up again. She was still blind.

“It’s alright now, we’re getting out of here.” he gently told her. 

He picked her up after untying his cloak from his ankle and clipping it on her. He looked to his right and saw that the golden glow that had killed the plants had cleared a path towards the exit: the beach where they first met.

On the other side, the others were waiting on the beach. The triplets were tinkering with their ship out of stress, Snow sat with Hans on the sand looking at the forest, and Merlin and Arthur paced around it. 

“It’s been too long, we should go back there!” Merlin finally said. 

“No, look,” Hans raised his head. Jack emerged from the forest holding Audrey in his arms. 

“He’s human!” Arthur exclaimed. 

“Jack, you’re human!” Snow ran up to him overjoyed.

He smiled at her and nodded, “Merlin,” he looked at him “I need your help.” 

Moments later Audrey felt something jolt in her body, specifically her eyes...?

“Ah!” she opened her eyes wide. 

The first thing she saw was the sunlight, she looked to her right and saw the waves crashing on the shore. 

“Is she alright?” she heard a female voice. 

“Merlin, are you sure you didn’t kill her?” a German voice asked. 

“Of course not, I’m very careful with my magic.” a British accent responded.

“The medicine makes her a bit drowsy, but she’ll be fine!” that was Italian. 

“Shh, she’s waking up.” another one in a Scottish accent said. 

She looked at the faces before her gaze drifted to an unfamiliar one with golden locks. He was kneeling on the sand as he gently held her hand. She cocked her head to the side as she squinted her eyes. He looked at her with the most sincere and heartwarming smile that was filled with love. It was on a different face…but she could recognize that anywhere.

“Jack,” she spoke. 

He let out a laugh as small tears came out _“Oui, it’s me.”_

She reached her hand out and put her hand on his cheek, and he leaned into her touch. “You broke your curse.” 

“No, you broke it, Audrey.” 

Audrey giggled and threw herself into his arms as they tumbled on the sand laughing. Snow had linked her arms with Merlin’s as they watched the happy couple. 

“So, you’re thinking about planning another wedding?” he asked her. 

Snow laughed, “Let’s put a pin on that. After all, they’ve only known each other for two days.” 


End file.
